A New Rising
by Tiut
Summary: Derek and company find out that GUILT is not gone. They have to defeat GUILT once and for all and find out the entire story behind Delphi.
1. Taken for Granted

Derek's head ached. He hadn't such late shifts since he got to Hope. He knew Kasal was out to get him, somehow. Derek finally finished the necessary paperwork to transfer insurance funds from the patient's health plan into the computer. Derek clocked out and went to the locker room, where he was surprised to find Angie undressing. The locker room was mixed and Derek already was the "pervert" of Hope, so he thought nothing of the fact Angie had a surprisingly inflated chest for her age. Derek went to his locker, filled with his personal items and necessary tools and pulled out his Doctor Medal of Honor. He did, after all, single-handedly operate on every form of GUILT discovered. He brushed off the dust and saw his frowning expression through the shining gold lettering. Hope hadn't had many trauma operations since GUILT went under control. Derek mainly did paperwork and the occasional "gaping lacerations and foreign objects on and in the chest area", which bored him to wonder why some people could be so careless while working, driving, etc.

"Derek?" Derek jumped. Angie put a hand on Derek's shoulder," I'm sorry, did I scare you?"

"I-I'm fine. G'night, Angie." Derek casually tossed to medal into the locker, seeing it put a dent in the back of the locker. He closed the locker and darted out onto the street. It was snowing outside. Since Derek lived two blocks from Hope, he had no need for a car or bike. He did consider himself sorta fit because he walk to work for roughly 6 years. It seemed like yesterday Fulton was yelling at him to "get you rear into gear, you aren't an intern anymore, grab your tools and get in there!" He was a much different person now. Wind blew in Derek's face, disrupting his thoughts. He found he was standing in front of his apartment. Had he walked any longer, he would have missed it. Derek stepped inside, undressed, to a long, hot, relaxing shower, and went to bed.

Derek felt sleepy when he walked to work the next day. His shifts had him up as late as 1:30 doing trivial tasks. He was a surgeon, not a billing organizer. Angie met up with him as he left the locker room.

"You know what to do. Papers on Wilson Colct are in your office. Organize them. " Derek grabbed the coffee of the brew and poured a mug.

"Yes, Angie." Derek replied. If he had a dime for every time he said that...

"I'm sorry, Derek. GUILT is passed, and people are starting to become more careful about their health. I don't hope for suffering of others, but...I hope something exciting happens."

"Thanks, Angie" Derek trudged to his office. He really needed to hear those words. Well, at least the "exciting" part.

Derek yawned. It was 3:00 pm; most of the nurses and specialists were finishing their shifts, but not him. He sighed. Out the windows there was a tree bearing fruit. Probably Oran berry. Derek continued to the survey questions for Mr. Colct. They were very automated answers and very straight forward, but they got very nitpicky about detail. The exciting thing Angie was talking about made Derek wonder if it could really hap--

CRASH! The sound of ambulence doors closing and the clacking of shoes on dirty tile floor caused Derek to drop his pen.

"Dr. Stiles" buzzed the intercom "Dr. Stiles please report to the Emergency Room immediately, there is a patient in dire need of medical attention. I repeat, Dr.Sti--"

He didn't need front desk to repeat himself, he was already dashing toward the ER.

"It's-It's just not possible." Angie said, locking at the summary chart for Samuel Holt, the patient. Derek skid across the greasy floor and dashed into the ER.

"What's the status?"

"He-He-He's contracted GUILT!" Derek froze. GUILT?! How could it be?! It's been 4 years since the incident and now there's GUILT?! Derek's mind was swirling out of control. Someone must have a sample of the GUILT still, using it as a terrorist attempt. Who? Where? For how long? Derek shook his head and regained focus

"Which is it?"

"GUILT 003, Triti." Geez, that was, in Derek's opinion, the hardest GUILT to treat. It was so unpredictable.

"Okay. Wheel him into the OR, I'll get dressed and prep. Try to keep him stable as long as you can.

"Understood."

Derek stood over the body, half not knowing what to do. He hadn't seen GUILT in 4 years. He had a basis of knowledge, but he'd just have to remember as he went along. He gave the chest a deep slice with the scalpel, and entered the stomach area. There were only 6 triangles. it hadn't spread too far. Derek removed a triangle and three more sprouted. He had to remove all the pins first. He did so with amazing speed. Angie completely forgot how fast Derek could move when he was actually focused. But he wasn't fast enough, the triangles continued to reappear. Derek had something he completely forgot he had: The Healing Touch, the time-slowing, patient-healing power of the Healing Touch. Since it was in his expertise, Derek quickly and painlessly activated the Healing Touch. Immediately, time slowed to a crawl, giving Derek way more time to pull pins and take triangles. Angie watched this all happen. Derek's hands were blurred, his eyes darker and darting. Angie imagined what it must be like to have such a wondrous ability at your disposal. The Healing Touch was still in effect when Derek finish with the patient, so he had time to close the patient up and bandage him before his ability wore away. Derek, once again was thrown into a paperwork frenzy, but he didn't care. He once again saved the life of someone in need with his ability. All this time he took it for granted but now, with the possible treat of GUILT back, he would probably value it more than ever.


	2. Miracle

Derek walked back to his office, sweating. He had just finished replacing a spinal plate, one of the hardest of operations, in one of his patients. He sat down at his desk and sighed. It his shift was almost over, which was great, seeing as it was only 12:00 am. Derek yawned. Recently, he had barley any time for himself and his life outside of work. He had friends, but he hated telling them "I can't come, I have to work." Luckily for him, he hadn't used any of his 2-week vacation days. Maybe he'd go to Florida or California...

"Derek?" said a familiar voice. Derek grimaced. It was one of his friends, Jacob Starlet. "I knew you worked at a hospital, but not as a surgeon!"

"Yeah." Derek sighed. He didn't want to add that he had only done 7 operations this past year.

"This why you keep blowing off me and the guys every night?"

"Yeah."

"Can't your boss cut you some slack?" Slack? You're the one who is unhealthy and over weight because you drink.

"Dunno." Derek was sick of hearing this. He was the only trauma surgeon in the hospital; of course he couldn't get off early.

"I see you're, uh, busy, so I'll just, uh, leave." Jacob darted out of the room. Glad that was over. He didn't need any more people complaining about how late he worked.

Derek walked out of the locker room when Angie gave him a nice, hearty smack.

"What are you doing?!"

"Uh, leaving?" Derek was dumbfounded by the randomness of that slap. It was either perversion or stupidity. Today, it was probably stupidity.

"Kasal said he needed us in the ER, N-O-W! Did you listen to the intercom?!"

"Jacob paid me a visit."

"Him? You hate him. That's not the point. Get you're smock back on and get to the ER." Derek rushed into the locker room and changed back into the superhero he was.

"You're not serious." Angie gave Kasal that look she gave Derek "WE can't do this."

"Really, all of the other respective nurses and doctors are on vacation or sick with flu. It is flu--"

"I get it!"

"What's the status?" Derek made it just in time to hear Kasal and Angie finish their dispute.

"Uh, fine." Kasal said puzzled, "You won't be operating on anyone."

"What?"

"You-you will be assisting Mrs. Patricia Kels, in childbirth."

"WHAT?!" Derek yelled. "I'm a surgeon!"

"There aren't any other Labor and Delivery doctors or nurses in the hospital. They're all on vacation."

"Send for some!"

"That's what i I /i said." said Angie rolling her eyes.

"Derek," Kasal started, "you and I both know that's impossible at this hour. Besides, she's ready to birth now; we have no time."

"B-but..." Derek, of course, knew nothing of childbirth. He didn't know how he could be of any help.

"Don't worry," said Angie, reading Derek's face, "I actually learned about it in medical school. I'll help you as much as I can."

Derek, Angie, and Dr, Kasal all walked into the room in which Mr. and Mrs. Kels were staying. Her stomach was swelled, a sign that the baby was ready for birth.

"Hello. I'm Dr. Stiles, and this is Nurse Thomson. We will be assisting you in your labor."

"Thank you, doctor, but could we get to the matter at hand?" Mr. Kels snapped.

"Uh, yes." Derek said, putting on a mask and setting down his tool belt full of on-hand equipment. Derek set up towels near Mrs. Kels womb, as instructed by Angie. Angie was reassuring Mrs. Kels every time she could that "It will be alright, don't panic." And so it began. Derek positioned himself in front of the vagina to watch the baby's distance and Angie instructed Mrs. Kels to "push" when necessary. Finally, after about 20 minutes of pain, the baby finally came out and Derek picked it up, and washed it off. Once clean of blood and such, he carefully handed the beautiful baby to the mother. It was a baby girl. How small and fragile her soft body was. Derek can't believe he actually helped in delivery. He felt so proud of himself.

"I have a name for her.," announced Mrs. Kels. Everyone looked at her, intent on hearing what she had to say. "Sara. Sara Kels." Everyone in the room smiled and clapped. Derek hoped that one day, he would be standing by the woman he loved with a beautiful baby just like this lucky couple.


	3. A Day Off

"Great!" said Derek, enthusiastically. It was one of those very, very rare days Derek had a day off. Dr. Williams, the trauma surgeon at Sorrow hospital, would come to Hope for business, and up staying longer than normal, giving Derek a day off.

"Don't get so excited," said Dr. Williams "you do have to come back to work tomorrow, and I won't be here."

"The important thing is that you work and I don't." Derek was glad he had someone like Dr. Williams to relate to. Had he said this to Kasal, he'd get that cold, stern look he gave anyone who did something wrong.

"Whatever. Get outta here."

Derek decided to take advantage of his day off by visiting some old friends, Caduceus friends. Derek could remember word for word the painful conversation he had with Head of Caduceus USA, Dr. Robert Hoffman.

"You're serious, Dr. Stiles?!" yelled Dr. Hoffman, his face scarlet red.

"Yeah." Derek said, half heartedly, "My paycheck has gone down because of no operations and it's just kinda boring here." Derek normally would treat Hoffman more formally, but today, Derek didn't feel like it.

"We have years of research we still need to conduct, and you think you can just walk out because you're BORED?!

"Here. If there are anymore outbreaks of GUILT, I get my butt back down here and see what I can do. But for now, I want to actually save people's lives." with that, he strolled out of the room. Dr. Hoffman slammed his fist onto his desk, toppling over his "I wish I were in a surgical video game..." mug.

"Get OUT of CADUCEUS!"

Derek stepped out of the taxi onto the front steps of Caduceus USA. How could he show his face there? He left all of his friends and coworkers. Derek took a deep breath and pushed open the front doors of Caduceus USA.

All eyes were on him. He walked fast so people couldn't stop to ask him questions. He walked faster and fast until he was running at full speed. Derek ran towards the Doctors Lounge, knowing that everyone he needed to see would be there. Derek burst open the doors and stood there, with his head hanging low, gasping for air. Eyes were on him, he could feel it, but he did not raise his head. Suddenly, Derek felt a warm embrace and large cleavage.

"Derek, we missed you so much!" it was Cybil. She seemed cheerful, though had left them.

"Derek, bro, how are ya? How is everything at Hope? Meet any cute girls?" this was of course Tyler. Luckily, Cybil gave him a smack to correct his mistake. Derek was happy no one seemed to be mad because when he looked up he saw Cybil, Tyler, with his reddened face, Leslie, and Steven Clarks, all smiling at him.

"Well, if it isn't the mutt that left us out of boredom." Victor walked out of the shadows, giving Derek an angry yet menacing look. "Surprised you showed your sorry face.

"Victor!" said Cybil, defending the still panting Derek.

"Typical response from the anti-social, ego centric Victor." shot Derek, calmly. He knew someone at Caduceus would give him a hard time.

"I'm flattered by your complements, such vocabulary. You actually got smarter over the two years.

"I'm surprised aren't locked in the lab, thinking of even more ways to make all of your colleges look bad in front of Hoffman, who I'm assuming hates your guts even more by this time.

"One with such a weak appearance shouldn't be telling others their shortcomings."

"ENOUGH!" yelled a voice Derek hoped he'd never hear in that tone of voice. "Derek, in my office, NOW!"

When Derek entered Dr. Hoffman's office, he closed the door behind him and sat down at the spare chair front of the desk that Hoffman was sitting at. "I had half the nerve to leave you and Victor to continue biting off each other's heads, but that's not the point. Dr. Kasal told me about the operation you finished a week ago.

"The Triti." said Derek.

"Yes, well...here." he handed Derek a report and Hoffman read aloud the page's contents:

URGENT STATUS REPORT:

23 patients, as of December 8, have been admitted to hospitals in Europe and America for cases of GUILT related sicknesses.

"This doesn't surprise me." Derek shrugged, "Triti spreads fast."

"Derek, there are 20 patients with KNOWN GUILT related sicknesses.

"There are only 7 forms of GUILT though."

"Derek, there are new strains. Now Derek, I've notified Kasal and Nurse Thompson will be over in 10 minutes. In the mean time, head back to Hope and clean out you're desk. That deal you made me two years ago, it's about to take effect.


	4. The First of Many

Going back to work at Caduceus had its finer points. Like all the women were wearing more revealing clothing. And according to Tyler, "They've been a lot less bitchy." Luckily for Derek, Tyler was the pervert at Caduceus.

Finally, Derek and Angie came out of the locker rooms wearing the normal Caduceus working clothing. Derek's eyes were still on Angie's chest when the intercom called them to Dr. Hoffman's office.

"Like I told you yesterday," started Dr. Hoffman "GUILT has returned. This time, we have an even bigger problem. There are 3 patients with the specific GUILT. Three patients with Triti, three with Pempti, etcetera. Yet--"

"You're forgetting the other patients, sir." interrupted Angie.

"I was getting to that. The remaining patients have different strains of GUILT."

"How, Doctor?" Angie was only one in the room that looked confused.

"Obviously the original strains of GUILT fused and created new strains." said Derek, feeling great that he knew something Angie didn't. "After the incident, the GUILT probably developed more functional brains. Even the regular GUILT forms I know might even be harder to defeat."

"You, Derek, are going to clear out the normal GUILT as they come. Hopefully you and Angie can destroy all of the normal GUILT before the new GUILT gets serious and spreads. We'll try to research the new GUILT as much as we can.

"Thank you, Dr. Hoffman. Come on Angie, Let's back get to the lounge."

Derek sat in the lounge drinking coffee. There were barley and clocks in Caduceus because of Sidney's famous saying: "If you know your shift is almost over, your work deteriorates." Derek finished his coffee when the entire gang came in.

"What time is it?" asked Derek

"What makes you think we'd know?" asked Tyler.

"There aren't any clocks anywhere!" Cybil sighed. "Stupid Sidney..."

"Silly me, I thought our savior was actually doing work." of course it was Victor, in his best mood.

"You seemingly know a lot about "hard work", seeing as you're the sad, suck- up." Derek said, without looking up.

"How flattering." Victor replied coldly. Victor stormed out of the lounge and into the lab.

"Derek, you don't have to fight with him.," said Cybil, hugging Derek. This made Derek blush, in front of Angie. When Cybil let go, he shook the blush off.

"Yeah, I do. It's the only way he'll learn he can't boss people around. Only Hoffman is capable of that!"

"YEAH!" Leslie said. Everyone stared at her. "What?"

"Guess we should do some paper work." Angie said as they were walking out of the lounge. For maybe 4 hours, Derek, Angie, and all other important Caduceus characters did paperwork. Which was boring, then break came and everyone made their way to the lounge for an hour of relaxing.

"I'm telling you, Mellow is a GIRL," protested Tyler.

"No, that's impossible," Derek replied, "he has no breasts."

"Just as long as he doesn't have a--"

"PLEASE! STOP!" yelled a majority of the women in the lounge.

"Actually women don't understand it at all." Derek shook his head."

"Oh my gosh, it's a TV show character! Get over it!" Angie yelled, slapping both Derek and Tyler, simultaneously, somehow.

"Derek," it was Sidney, "uh, hi, great to see you, first patient, er, second if you count the Hope victim. Come, please. Angie you too." Derek and Angie walked with Sidney, wondering which GUILT it was. As if he was reading Derek's mind, Sidney spoke up. "You will be battling Kyraki today."

"Good, it should be simple then."

"Careful, Derek, they're smarter now." said Angie.

They made it to the room where Derek would be operating; the patient was in horrible condition. Derek could hear faint slicing and notice the patient was coughing up blood onto he's garments.

"Let's get start, Angie." Derek grabbed his belt and put on a mask.

Derek applied rubbed on some Antibiotic gel and entered the body with a scalpel and gagged at what he saw. There were cuts all over the stomach, the actually stomach was a crimson red. Six tiny bodies darted around the hemorrhages. Derek took disinfectant wipes and did his best to stop massive blood loss. He sutured the cuts and worked on the bodies. Much faster than the average Kyraki, these could product twice the amount of cuts. Derek could surface only of them, but it's ally would drag it down once it made its cut. Derek thought he shouldn't use the Healing Touch until most of the smaller bodies were gone.

"The Healing Touch, Derek!" Angie exclaimed, "Use it!"

"I've a better idea." his words came out muffled. Derek stabilized vitals, and then made a gapping hole across the stomach with the scalpel.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

"Please Angie, wait." immediately, kyraki began jumping out of the hole, creating one synchronized line. Derek quickly sutured them together then when down the line, blasting them with the laser. Their bodies crumpled then exploded into small piles. Derek removed the 10cm long suture and repaired the hole he had made. There was still work to do. Derek waited for the mother Kyraki to create the tri-slash. When it did, Derek sutured them up, leaving the mother dumbfounded. The mother, and enhanced wingspan of 7cm, "flew" around in the stomach. Derek gave it escape points and it took the bait. The mother flew threw a cut and spread it's wings, widening the cut greatly. Derek then did something even Angie didn't expect. Derek pulled out his forceps and snatched the kyraki of the body. Angie handed him a plate to put the dying kyraki on. "We need samples, don't we, nurse?" Derek winked at her and closed up the patient.

"Why didn't I think of THAT?!" Sidney said.

"Because you're Sidney?" Derek grinned. Sidney gave him that "Kasal" look. It must run in the family. Derek was glad to save another patient. What type of GUILT would he fight next?


	5. Birthday Under the Oak

Derek's mind was swirling as he fixed all of his attention to the patient's life. He had to extract the foreign object correctly, or his patient would die. Derek tensed his grip, steadied his forceps, and slowly, carefully, attempted to extract the object. No, he failed! His patient's nose glowed a piercing shade of red and--

"Ha ha! You lose!" Tyler said, resetting the board for another round of "Operation".

"These forceps are nothing like the ones I use in real surgery." Derek complained, "How am I supposed to save someone's life with these?"

"I think you two have had enough of Operation." said Cybil, making herself a cup of coffee. "How about you two actually do REAL surgery?"

"Real patients don't get 'brain freeze' status that can be cured by pulling out a plastic brain." Derek pointed out, "I get to do the easy surgery."

"Whatever, break is over get back to work." Cybil replied, "You wouldn't want Sidney on your--"

"Ok, ok! We're going!" Tyler sighed, dragging Derek to "Tyler's Room".

"Derek, I need to talk to you about somethin'." whispered Tyler, when the door to his office was closed.

"I'd love to but we have work to do."

"I finished all of my paperwork already. Now listen, Cybil's birthday is tomorrow. Everyone wants to throw her a party. It's Saturday, so none of us have to work."

"What do you want me to do?"

"You will assume the duty of luring her here."

"Do I i have /i to?"

"Yes. Now 'pick her up' at around 12:30pm. Tell her you found a new discovery or somethin'."

"Kay. Now, let me do my work. I don't wanna get fired."

The next day, Derek walked down the street in the January weather to Cybil apartment. Derek had a hard time talking to women alone, except for Angie, because she wasn't as cute as other girls. Derek walked up the stairs to apartment room 385 where Cybil live and knocked on the door. Derek waited five minutes for her when suddenly, she came out with towels over her body and head. Derek's nose involuntarily bled. He wiped it on his shirt and stood straight. "Cybil. You get changed and I'll, uh wait out here. I need to, uh, talk to you."

"Kay, be out in sec!" Cybil tiptoed back into the bathroom and Derek closed the door to the apartment and leaned against the peeling painted walls of the hallway. This would be hard to deal with. "Mkay, I'm done come in." Derek stepped into her apartment, which looked quite normal, for her current mood. "Wha'd you need, hun?"

"Uh, there's something at Caduceus I have to show you."

"Can't it wait 'till tomorrow?" Cybil said, stroking Derek's chin. Derek would probably get a fever, lest his face got any hotter.

"N-no. Its genetic substructure won't hold ahahah..." Derek was interrupted by a hug from Cybil; her wet hair caused Derek to tingle inside.

"Always so professional, even while not at work."

"Really, Cybil," Derek struggled the words, speechless from how she was acting. "This is serious." Cybil let go quickly.

"Oh, ok. Let's go to Caduceus." she sighed and walked toward the door.

Once they were walking, Cybil was at it again. "I love the way you look in that coat. You look so buff." Her head on Derek's shoulder. How could Derek say anything? She had her heart in her hands, throwing it at him. He couldn't turn her down of accept this at all he just kept walking.

They made it to Caduceus in roughly 15 minutes. Derek agonizing all of them.

"Derek!" Cybil yelled. Derek jumped. He gave all of his attention to her. She took his hand and dragged him out of the sights of the security cameras and whispered to him "Don't disappoint me." She embraced him for a warm, loving kiss. He took part without question. They stood there under a frozen oak tree, warming each other by mouth. This was Cybil's best birthday yet.

Derek finally led Cybil inside where everyone was waiting for her.

"SURPRISE!" everyone shouted. Cybil looked surprised, but she didn't mean it. That kiss with Derek would be the best birthday present she would ever have.


	6. Team or Couple

Derek returned to his office which was cluttered with files and papers

Derek returned to his office which was cluttered with files and papers. After handling the Paraskevi the other day, he had received a bunch of papers from Dr. Hoffman. Hoffman had been acting very edgy ever since the GUILT had returned. He was working Derek harder than before. Was Hoffman being cautious, or was he secretly punishing Derek for leaving?

Oddly enough, the operation wasn't recorded by video. So the only one who would ever know what happened would be Derek...

Derek wiped his forehead of sweat. The heater systems were on, making the entire building feel like a sauna; he'd probably bake! Derek walked over to the window and opened it. He was immediately hit with the cold December air. What a relief. Derek glanced through the snow and noticed that oak tree. That was the very same tree he had kissed Cybil under. He wondered what she was doing right now...

"Ah!" Cybil sighed, finishing the Ramune. Japanese drinks were rare in California. But Cybil knew of a small corner shop just two blocks from her apartment. Her apartment. Number 385. Derek. He came on her birthday for "business". They kissed. She kissed him. Cybil put a hand over her mouth and turned red. (I...I kissed Derek...) Cybil went down the hall to the Girls' room and washed out the bottle to add it to her collection. She washed her face and stared into the mirror. She did look cute, didn't she? Derek loved her back, right? Was it just a kiss, and nothing else? No. They were meant for each other.  
"Hey Cybil," Angie walked out of a stall. "How are ya?"  
"Uh, fine I guess; just washing my face."  
"Kay!" Angie gave Cybil an extremely sweet smile and walked out of the room.  
(That was odd...) thought Cybil, (She was so cheerful, she didn't even wash her hands. Ew...)

Derek saved the text document on his computer and powered off the engine. It was 7 pm. He could now go home. He clocked out and grabbed his coat from the lounge. He reached for it, but it was snatched away. He followed the hand back to the body of Cybil. In fact, her face wasn't the first thing he saw on her.He saw...mainly her chest.  
"Hey there, you." she laughed, tossing the coat at his face. It hit him. When he took it off, Cybil was right in front of him. "I want you to take me home."  
"Ok?" Derek replied puzzled. He slipped on his coat and waited for her to grab her stuff.

They stepped out into the frosty air. Derek tried not to make eye-contact with her. She probably would just kiss him right there if their eyes met. Derek walked fast to try make it to her apartment quickly.

In ten minutes, they were standing in front of the building. Derek finally turned to look at the girl. She was blushing. This probably had nothing to do with the temperature outside, though. She squeezed Derek into a hug and put her face into his chest. Derek looked away, trying to take no part in this. She straightened up and stared into his eyes. She saw his unease and ignored it completely. She closed her eyes and leaned in close. He took a deep breath and did the same. Cybil opened her eyes abruptly and smirked. She licked Derek's lips, throwing him off balance. She broke free from his light grasp and ran up the stairs.  
"I'll see you later, baby!" She opened the apartment door and ran up the pea-green carpeted staircase leading to Number 385. The door closed behind her and Derek was left on the bottom step dazed and confused.

Derek walked into Caduceus tired. He was still confused at what Cybil had done last night. She was acting VERY strange. But who was Derek to understand women?  
"Hey Derek, you're gonna love this." Angie caught up with Derek when he finished dressing into his scrubs. "Another 'Advanced GUILT' victim has been admitted to this WONDERFUL hospital."  
"Well geez, can I walk into Caduceus without having to save lives for once?!"  
"You _are _a surgeon..."  
"Fine. Where do I go?" Angie gestured over toward Sidney's office.  
"He wants to brief you there. I thought I saw Cybil go in there too." Derek disregarded the "Cybil" part of that conversation and headed toward the office.

"STUPID--" Sidney was cut-off by Derek's entrance. He finished his swear and turned to look at Derek.  
"Is there a problem?" Derek asked, noticing the crinkled dollar in Sidney's hand.  
"Nothing...just a machine..." He stuffed the dollar in his pocket. "You'll be dealing with Tetarti."  
"Do I smell reminiscence?"  
"Don't, Derek, this is serious. You will be getting help with this operation." Derek cocked an eyebrow.  
"Who could you mean? I have Angie. I don't understand."  
"Kay! I'm back! They didn't have grape, so I got you Coke." Cybil walked over to Sidney's desk and placed the soda on his computer monitor. "Oh&...hi Derek."  
"Are you serious?!" Derek looked at Sidney with an annoyed expression.  
"Yeah," yelled Sidney, "you know I don't like Coke! I only drink Pepsi!"  
"Hence the reason I got it. Unless you'd rather not have ANY soda..."  
"Fine, I'll drink it. Derek, you'll be working with Cybil. Angie sits this one out." The two lovers looked at each other, the back at Sidney, who was now having trouble opening the Coke.  
"Me with him?"  
"Me with her?"  
"Yes. Derek, we need as many people who are willing to learn how to fight GUILT as possible. She'll be...she'll be your student for this one. Now get going. You two need to prep."  
"Sidney, I need you to sign something." Victor poked his head through the door.  
"You two, leave and get ready." After Derek and Cybil left, Sidney turned to look at Victor, soda dripping from his chin."  
"This document isn't going to sign itself..."

After Derek and Cybil were properly suited for the operation, they headed for the door marked "OP 3".

They stood over the unconscious patient. Derek grabbed a scalpel and prepared to enter the body.  
"Well...what do we do?" Cybil said through the muffled mask. Her hair touched his neck, giving him an unpleasant prickling feeling.  
"I have to open him up, don't I?" he rolled his eyes and made a small cut near the liver region. Derek sensed this operation would be difficult with _her _here.

The liver came into sight. There were three oddly colored tumors clustered near the left side. Tetarti. They were a lovely bunch of annoyances. Derek administered the proper serums to each tumor. He'd handled the easiest part of this hardship.

The trio surfaced to the skin of the organ. They stared up at Derek and tilted their heads to one side.  
"Don't mess with me." Derek spoke to the creatures.  
(--hath--si--wh--) An odd voice filled Derek's ears. (Ca--sh--Can you understand ushhhhh, human?) The voice was dry and rasping, yet smoother and clear with each stressed syllable. Derek denied what he'd just heard. Was the GUILT TALKING to him?  
"Uh yeah...I understand." Derek replied.  
(Why do you fight our brothershhhhh? Why do you shhhhlay them?) The purple entity inched closer to the syringe.  
"You are killing us. Someone has to stop you." The lips of the purple virus moved again.  
(But our creator shhad it was for good.)  
"You have connections with Adam?! He's not dead?!"  
(Our creator? Dead? You are too odd, human.)  
"Look, Adam was wrong; you guys aren't to kill, you are to SAVE humans. Now...could you tell me of the last time you saw Adam?"  
(Stupid human! How dare you insult our god! You make lies about Him and then you demand work?! We have no concern for preserving your filth. Die!) The Tetarti disappeared into the liver, putting Derek back to focus. Cybil stared at Derek, horrified. He was talking to himself. Was he crazy?! She shrugged the thought and stood by as Derek handled this.

The Tetarti surfaced. Derek attacked them all quickly with the colored serums.  
"We need to talk."  
(We are not willing to listen to you, not after what you said.) They once again disappeared into the membranes of the liver.  
"Derek, are you ok?"  
"I'm fine. Be quiet." Cybil was taken aback by that comment. What was he doing? Did he not care for her? The Tetarti surfaced again.

"LISTEN!" Derek seized the purple entity with the forceps.  
(Let my brother free!) The yellow entity set up a tumor, then fled next to the green Tetarti. Derek was distracted by the tumor, so he let the Tetarti free to fix the problem. They fluttered around, spiking the vitals of the patient. Derek injected them then moved onto fixing the yellow tumor. The creatures shuddered slightly, then escaped, again. They obviously weren't going to listen. Derek prepared himself for the Healing Touch.

"Cybil, hold my hand...and clear your mind." Cybil blushed and eagerly grabbed Derek's arm. Derek's eyes closed...then quickly shot open. Odd colors surrounded Cybil. The room turned different shades of blue and purple. Cybil glanced at Derek. His face was twisted into an evil grin. His eye color had changed from chocolate brown to an electric blue. Cybil checked herself. She felt faster. Her sight was sharper, clearer. She took off her glasses. She could see without them!

The Tetarti surfaced. Now, their movements were extremely slow. Derek could inject the creatures with ease. Derek got two full syringes worth in each entity. Their movements were of desperate attacks. The patient's vitals were dropping at extreme rates. Derek decided it was time to try something...risky. He injected more serums into the trio, then drew a triangle around the creatures. They tried to escape, but the triangle acted as a cage, forcing them to remain inside it. They stopped and stared at Derek.  
(Why do you fight us? Adam said...that humans are doomed to dead. Why do you resist?)  
"Because," Derek's voice had drastically changed. It was a deeper, sinister drone that caught Cybil by surprise. What was he? "Adam is a fool! He has all but given up on hope. This is why he is WRONG!" Derek grabbed a new syringe. He was shaking with rage. Why did he act this way? Cybil was too scared to speak at all. This was what it was like to have this power? She remained quiet, not wanting Derek's rage to be inflicted to herself.

Derek returned to the body. The patient's vitals were at mere 10. Derek took in the colored serums and watched the Tetarti writhe. They just skittered around the triangl's boundaries in panic. "It is time I ended this. I'm done with you. BE GONE!" Derek plunged the full syringe into the purple entity. The creature's body fizzled, then exploded into an oozing pile of flesh and serum. The other two had little time to react before they too were reduced to nothing. Derek sutured the triangle, restored the vitals, sutured the basic incision, and ceased the Healing Touch. Cybil and Derek returned to regular time. Derek wiped his forehead and turned to Cybil. His eyes were back to their original brown color. Derek smiled at Cybil and murmured a couple of words as he cleaned up:

"And that's how it's done."


End file.
